Mister Cinderella

Jack Haley and Betty Furness star in this funny screwball comedy about a hotel barber and a society princess who actually get to meet and fall in love in the craziest of circumstances.

One of Haley's special duties is to look after permanent hotel resident Monroe Owsley who is a perpetually drunk playboy who has a date with Furness and family to discuss business. But Owsley if he ever had a serious thought in his head it would die of loneliness. So while he's still trying to negotiate sobriety, Haley impersonates Owsley and starts mingling with one of New York's 400.

The head of the family is Raymond Walburn who is one of those players that you know exactly what to expect from with his bloviating style of comedy. Ditto Arthur Treacher as the family butler and so on down the line of familiar players.

As for Haley dreams to come true for whom Owsley names Mister Cinderella. But it's how it happens that makes Mister Cinderella fun to watch.

This has got to be one of my guilty pleasures, since I kept feeling the mistaken identity plot was silly and I generally dislike slapstick. But I saw the film twice and both times I found myself chuckling much more than I expected. Jack Haley does his klutsy shtick as a barber impersonating a millionaire to perfection. And with Betty Furness as his love interest, and more comedy by Edward Brophy, Tom Dugan and Raymond Walburn, it's a film most comedy lovers will enjoy.

My wife and I saw this movie for the first time last night, and it was a fun, funny, and wonderful movie. Now, for perspective, I'm writing this as a huge fan of silent slapstick and someone who has fun with the screwball comedies of the '30s.

Jack Haley plays Joe Jenkins, a barber who reads the Society magazines. He's cutting a man's hair when the man, reading the mag, comes across the picture of Patricia Robertson (Betty Furness) and cuts a line in the back of the man's head whilst in a swoon. Through a series of circumstances, he does meet her, while pretending to be someone else.

I'm not going to give away any more, because the madcap way in which things unfold is part of the movie's charm. You think, "What are the chances of THAT happening?" Well, the chances are nil – it's a movie! – but after some tension and uncertainty, everything works out.

I liked the performances Edward Brophy as Detective McNuttt and, especially, Arthur Treacher as the butler, Watkins. Furness if charming. Haley, "the Tin Man" from elsewhere, reminded me very much of Harry Langdon, though not quite as much the child.

If you get a chance to see this movie and like to carry a smile, see it for sure.

Jack Haley is hilarious as Joe Jenkins, a barber hooked on gossip magazines.

Joe worships society darling Patricia Randolph (Betty Furness), though he has no hopes of ever meeting her….until he's asked to impersonate a wealthy customer and attend a business rendezvous—with Patricia's father. The comedy of mistaken identity that ensues is wild, witty and rather sweet.

The supporting cast is packed with wonderful character actors: Ray Walburn as the blustery father desperate to make a deal; Arthur Treacher as the haughty butler; Edward Brophy as police detective McNutt; Tom Dugan as a would-be tough guy out to defend family honor….Non-stop nuts.

Haley and Furness are equally delightful as the two leads. Furness is charming and lively, a good match for Haley's breathless antics; she comes the closest of anyone in the picture to playing a straight role. Haley is frantic yet earnest—and quite charming in his own way. The two share some cute scenes, especially a romantic moment in a dark attic.

This Hal Roach production displays plenty of characteristic Roach studio touches….like when Haley unfolds his handkerchief and daintily lays it out on a porch step to sit on, and then sits next to it instead of on it.

It's a very funny picture—fast paced and full of clever dialog. Great fun!

Raymond Walburn will go broke if he can't get $5,000,000 from Monroe Owsley. But Owsley is too hung over to go, and no one knows what he looks like. So he sends barber Jack Haley in his place.

Hal Roach was just moving into features, and it shows the lack of production expertise in that it tries to do too much in too many ways in a comic vein. With Arthur Treacher, Robert McWade, Edward Brophy, Tom Dugan, and Iris Adrian in the listed cast, and Harry Bernard, Charles Judels, Harry Myers, and Bert Roach doing bits, what chance do the actresses like Betty Furness, Rosina Lawrence, Kathleen Lockhart, and Toby Wing. Even director Eddie Sedgwick can't sort them out, and only Walburn gives a topnotch performance. Even so, the comedy that works makes it well worth watching.